Diary of a Haunting Book Review + #Giveaway #TipsySpooktacular stop 6

 

Diary of a Haunting

M. Verano

Genre: Young Adult Horror
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse

ISBN: 978-1481430692
ASIN: B00TBKYJF2

Pages: 320

Goodreads Rating: 3.26
My Rating: 3.5

Book Description:

In the tradition of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, an American teen recounts the strange events that occur after she moves into a new—and very haunted—home with her family in this chilling diary that features photos and images of what she experienced.

Letters, photographs, and a journal…all left behind in the harrowing aftermath.

Following her parents’ high-profile divorce, Paige and her brother are forced to move to Idaho with their mother, and Paige doesn’t have very high hopes for her new life. The small town they’ve moved to is nothing compared to the life she left behind in LA. And the situation is made even worse by the drafty old mansion they’ve rented that’s filled with spiders and plenty of other pests that Paige can’t even bear to imagine.

Pretty soon, strange things start to happen around the house—one can of ravioli becomes a dozen, unreadable words start appearing on the walls, and Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house late at night. And there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor who seems to know a lot more than he’s letting on.

Things only get creepier when she learns about the cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost one hundred years earlier. The more Paige investigates, the clearer it all becomes: there’s something in the house, and whatever it is…and it won’t be backing down without a fight.

My Take

... I'm at a complete loss for words.

When I first made my run through Barnes and Noble early September, I came across this book that is actually what started the whole #TipsySpooktacular. I instantly wanted to read it.

When I got home I discovered the creepiness that is the cover.  Within minutes, I was rushing to my best friend and roommate's door and showing him.

I didn't jump immediately into the book, I wanted to savor this rare find and work my way to it, so I started with a couple other books. Once I was properly prepared and in the mood for what was sure to be a scary story, I cracked open the book and got to reading.

I'm not exactly sure how to interpret the story, is it real or is it merely fiction in the form of quote on quote found documentation. It's introduced as a true story compiled by the author who happens to be a professor. I took it with a grain of salt and vowed to keep an open mind.

The "haunting" was very slow to start with. The occurrence is rare and far in-between and not untypical of an old relic of a home. But as the story progresses steadily became clear that this was not your run-of-the-mill old house. It was until very late in the story, when I read a particular name of a character that is alluded to throughout the whole story that I truly and honestly began to get scared. I will still prevail I literally had chills. And yet I still don't know whether to take this as a real account or fiction for the sake of thrills. I'm normally a very open minded person, I tend to believe in the paranormal but I'm not a fanatic. This story had me questioning all sorts of things.

It wasn't really predictable even if you have moments where you yes that's something is going to happen. Guessing and predicting are two completely different things. When I guess it's something more of me just taking a shot in the dark at a completely unsupported theory. And even my guesses were rarely correct.

But on the downside, there was a lot of unanswered questions and for me, an unresolved ending. The ending comes completely out of left field. The story starts one way then makes a complete 180 leaving you scratching you head asking "what?"

I also found the diary format of the book tiresome after I reached the midway point. There was a lot of this book that I loved but alternatively, the was a smidge more that I didn't. I liked the originality but I didn't like the unexplained or unresolved story. The beginning had a lot of promise but as all good things ghostly, things hit the metaphorical shitter. Unfortunately, what ultimately killed this story for me was the end which felt like a cop-out to an otherwise interesting read.

I would also like to note that although I liked the narrator Paige, I found her mother's character was flaky, self-absorbed and annoying.

3.5 Quills

If this was a story and completely fiction, then the characters were extremely well developed even if I did not like them. The setting was very much on the creepy side and the haunting itself was scary. With all these things in mind, I can safely deduce that this book has everything that one needs for an exceptional horror novel had the execution gone correctly.

If these were in fact based of true events, then fudge that just makes it all the more terrifying and slightly if not completely confusing. So in all, I enjoyed the book. I got scared by the book. BUT... I also got confused by the book. 

*After some investigation of my own, it seems that this is in fact being marketed as a ‘true’ story and not the imaginings of the author. Whether or not you believe the story is real is solely dependent on the reader.

About The Author

M. Verano has been searching for evidence of paranormal activity for most of his career. He is currently preparing another diary to further prove his theories.

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I'm giving away some paperbacks to US residents and a few ebooks.

Books will be from the ones you find on the #TipsySpooktacular Stops

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Thanks for stopping by,

“I purchased this book with the intent to review. I was in no way compensated for this review and all opinions are expressly my own”